According to an interview published in MIT Sloan Management Review , innovation expert Eric von Hippel argues that product innovation comes, fundamentally, from users who improvise and improve upon existing products — not companies that manufacture those technologies. It may be the case that companies are hesitant to innovate for markets they are uncertain about — which is when user innovation comes into play.
For example, the first heart-lung machine was invented by John Heysham Gibbon, a doctor, not a medical equipment company. Since medical equipment companies could not be certain that there would be a market for such a machine at such an early stage, this serves as an example of a technology that could only be developed by a user who recognized a specific need, not, say, the R&D department of a large company.
According to von Hippel, manufacturers need to become proactive about utilizing user innovation. One example of a company that exemplifies this approach is GE, which recently issued a Healthymagination Innovation Challenge: an open call for breakthrough ideas for the improved detection and treatment of breast cancer. Up to $100 million in capital funds from GE and its venture capital partners may be invested globally into "promising startups and ideas," according to the site.
